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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Maury Brown: Crane will get approved

Maury Brown will get approved by the owners, says Maury Brown, in his latest article.

There’s never been anyone willing to say on or off-record which owners weren’t willing to vote to approve Crane in August. Speculating, it’s possible the Rangers might not have been keen to Crane. After all, Crane was part of a quickly cobbled together partnership with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban that had them in the auction process for the Rangers that eventually saw a group headed by Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg winning. The auction process drove the sale price up higher than expected, which didn’t exactly sit well with the new Rangers ownership group. The odd thing is, that sale likely played into how much Crane’s exceptionally large group is now paying for the Astros.

All that aside, at least 7 owners must have had questions about Crane as the move to approve ownership transfer requires 75 percent of the owners agreeing. Certainly, Drayton McLane is for it, so 75% of 29… you do the math.

Everywhere you look in this deal, MLB has a reason to reject it. High debt? Check. Huge list of investors? Check. Buyer with a questionable background who caused problems in the past (e.g., Rangers last year)? Check. MLB seems to be making a deal with the devil here to accomplish an objective.

It would be an awful move for the Astros to go to the AL. The way the fans have been treated this year and the to turn around and force this on them...it will be a long while before fans return. What was just a few years ago one of the highest home attendance teams will continue to be in the basement for some time.

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Established in 2008, Astros County is your friendly neighborhood blog & grill. We are the Protectors of the Legacy of Dickie Thon, Defenders of the Honor of J.R. Richard, and Anti-American League. Orlando Palmeiro Was Safe.